How will Microsoft compete with Google's Android and Apple's iPhone OS? By targeting a separate version of Windows Mobile at each of them, moles have claimed.
According to Taiwanese handset-manufacturer sources cited by DigiTimes, Microsoft won't withdraw Windows Mobile 6.5 - which is due to arrive in October - when version …

FAIL. Again

What MS need to do is build a good, rounded, mobile platform in its own right, not target Android, iPhone, Palm or any other competitive platform.

If they'd concentrate on re-architecting their dreadful WinMo platform, rather than trying to out-Android Google, or out-iPhone Apple, then they'd have a chance. As it is, given their history and this approach, they've lost before they've even started.

this is a title

"Why wait more than a year to promote Windows Mobile against the surging iPhone? And why does Android require a lesser Windows Mobile rival than the Apple product does?"

Android is less "polished" than the iPhone OS though is potentially more feature rich. WM is already pretty well set when it comes to that, so it'll take less to get something that, in MSs eyes, is competitive with Android. The iPhone OS however is all pretty and lovely which is going to take a lot more polish, hence a later release date. Of course neither are going to work - android fans will stick to android for its open nature, iPhone fanboiz will stick with that because,well, apple, and well, whoever else has WM thrust upon them will continue to have WM thrust upon them (does anyone choose it out of will?)

MS Phones Sorry Defected!

I have used MS phones since the begining and have enjoyed all versions, recently I had a Windows Mobile 6.5 HTC.

Though I still think Windows Mobile 5 (WM5) was a slicker product and WM6.5 a bit "bloated".

WM 5 It did what you wanted it to, software was cheap and plent of free apps were out there.

I am not a Mac-fan or Mac-anti, I just don't like Mac because as an MS Officardo I can not tinker with them as I am not familiar with Macs to the same degree as a PC.

This week I have just got an iPhone 3g s 32Gb, and I have not put it down, as a multimedia device and communications device it is very very good.

OK I can not remote the servers as easily, and the Windows pointer was a useful tool.

But I don't care I can just rig it up to my small mini laptop and manage any IT server work through the Internet tethering capability option which comes with the new iPhone., which is something I have been doing with the WM6.5 device lately anyway (the screens are now too small to work with easily).

So MS you have lost my custom for at least 18 months, by which time I will consider replacing the iPhone. Oh and many useful apps in the iPhone are also free.

As for split level competing products what total toddle! MS just produce good mobile phone software on a good piece of hardware and I will be back, BUT it will have to be a much better experience that I am presently having with the iPhone!

Fail

As long as Ballsmer keeps focusing on the competition and their products he'll forever be trying to catch up with what everyone else was doing a year ago, or in the iPhone's case, two years ago. M$ should focus on their own products, but then they'd be crap anyway so it doesn't matter.

I don't like Bill Gates but I feel sorry for him, watching Ballsmer's antics.

Here we go again!

Ye Gods!

You'd think that by now even the clown Ballmer would have realised that no-one is going to wait for the next Microsoft product just because it's Microsoft.

Microsoft got away with that crap for years with its various OS's and 'hints' of future software releases which never appeared. Now they have some real competition it shows just how much of an anchor they have always been.

WinMo

WinMo, and CE before it, has always tried to give you that "windows PC feel" in a smaller package, with a start bar, and similar names for things. The problem alwyas has been, if its a phone you want, then its not really a practical platform IMO. For email, doc editing etc, the things which you'd use a PC for, then its fine.

They need to start again, from the 6.5 ROMs i tried on a no-longer-with-me Xperia X1, its an ok platform, but far from perfect, typical WinMo problem of being a bit too fiddly, possibly because it was a massively pre-production beta copy? The iPhone OS really shows how a simple to use OS can still offer top notich user experience without appearing complicated. This ofcourse has its draw backs. I think this is where android comes in, still fairly easy to use, but without iphone drawbacks.

The problem with WinMo

The problem with WinMo is that is just cant seem to shake off its old skool PDA roots - which it got before anyone really knew how a PDA should work.

The result is now that the interface is ugly, sluggish and has some really dumb bugs in it (like it's entire memory management system with apps staying open when you think you've closed them).

MS simply havent bothered with making it finger-friendly -which is really bizarre considering that pretty much all PDA's, even the really early ones, were touch-screen based.

They need to drop the entire thing, redesign it from scratch with todays hardware and user in mind, and then refine the UI before releasing a major version change. I'm looking forward to seeing what WinMo 7 can do, but for me, it's 2 years too late.

WinMob? they've lost it

I had win mob 5 and 6 ... 5 was about "ok", 6 was crap, the phone was underpowered, but then again the software should not have been on there in the first place!

M$ have to watch out on which hardware their partners ship which OS ... That is the main reason why Vista failed and why WinMob is failing ... the gear is simply underpowered.

The ui is hideous, but MS are famous for complete lack of taste anyway .... I think of a Jobs movie on the famous video site (really old from the 80's). Look @ XP, which was a reaction to Mac OS X .... I guess somebody told the ui designers the ui needed to look younger! The answer was Fisherprice!

@northern monkey

I smell pokies being told

if a company takes a gamble and develops for one these proposed platforms will their apps run on the other one automatically ? Are the deliberately trying to fail ? This assumes we take the information at face value.

IMO either, the leaked information is wrong or its just marketing spin to keep their windows mobile OEMs on board until windows 7 arrives at which time they'll let 6.5 die off.